An inside look at the day before a shoot

Photo courtesy of Eric Lennstrom Photography

So I am shooting for the next two days. Tomorrow I am shooting for Genlux Magazine again. I’m shooting for the Spring Fashion Issue. The next day I am shooting a beauty story for Zink Magazine. I’ve had these two shoots slated to shoot for the last 3 weeks. We’ve had plenty of time to prepare for them. I’ll only write about my first shoot for Genlux because to write about both of them would turn out to be a really long and really redundant post. So with Genlux, I was given the theme. Travel! That’s the theme of the issue for Spring and that was the only guideline. Since I am totally bored with lifestyle photography and travel lends so easily to that theme, I racked my brain for a couple of days and then it hit me: I wanted to go off in a totally different direction and do a story on Astral Travel! Right up my alley! I’m so tired of the whole trains, planes and automobiles thing. If I see one more chick on a yacht I might faint from boredom. But Astral Travel. Now that’s something I can sink my teeth into. Stephen, the creative director, OK’d my idea. Which is astonishing!

Read More »

When I use a Tripod

When I am shooting 35mm I don’t normally use a tripod unless I’m using a real slow shutter speed. I say normally because sometimes I do use one.

But why don’t I normally shoot with one?

• Because I like to move around when I shoot. I’m all over the place when I shoot. I look for the shot while I’m shooting. And a tripod clips my wings, so to speak.
  

• I’m on the ground, up on a ladder, down on one knee and then up again.
  

• In my opinion, fashion is free flowing and needs to have movement and spirit. A tripod feels like it forces the shot to stay static and I start to feel “stuck” when I’m using one.

Read More »

Marketing yourself and the Best Use for Promo Cards + Contest Below!

Most photographers have a promo card. A promo card is a card that you leave behind with a client or give to potential clients that you meet that shows a few shots of your work and has your contact info on it. It’s like a large, fancy business card. Your promo card can be as different and individual as you and your work is! Some photographers have very unusual cards, varying in size and texture. Some photographers stick to more standard sizes of postcard size ( 4″ x 6″ ), 6″ x 8″ or 8″ x 10″ sizes and do the normal glossy or matte finished textures.

Read More »

When my husband presented me with the idea of The Shot of the Week, I thought it was a great idea. First of all, it would be a way for my readers to get seen, a platform to show their work and have a link to their website up. I just had no idea how many submissions we would get this first week that we’ve ran it. And the talent that has poured in! I must admit, I have some very strong shooters reading my blog! I was really blown away at how many great shots came in this week for The Shot of the Week. So congratulate yourselves! And keep it up!

Read More »

Breaking down the digital voodoo wall

Recently I was asked by Brandon Oelling if he could profile me on his x= blog. I checked out his blog and was immediately 100% supportive of what he offers as far as expertise in this ever evolving and ever confusing world of digital workflow and technology. For myself, making the leap from film to digital in the late ’90′s wasn’t easy. I have to admit I went kicking and screaming. Imagine having twenty years of knowledge on how to expose and develop film and then print from negatives just for that knowledge to be pushed aside in order to learn and embrace the digital medium…..I was a little teed off, to say the least! But for photographers like myself, having someone like Brandon available to us is like striking gold! For more than 10 years Brandon Oelling has been at the helm of x=photography+consulting, working with photographers both new and old to demystify technology and break down the voodoo that surrounds technology and digital workflow. Leveraging his engineering background and fine arts training, Brandon has played a pivotal role in helping numerous clients and studios ramp up their operations to include an all-digital workflow and archiving process. Brandon’s expertise in best practices, planning, and execution strategy for digital workflow (RAW, Adobe DNG, JPEG, TIFF, etc.) and digital asset management (DAM) systems allows him to specifically target a solution for each and every client.

First of all, I want you to check out the interview I did for his blog! His blog is designed beautifully, and kudos to Brandon for the aesthetically gorgeous and yet user-friendliness of it:

Melissa Rodwell Interview on X= blog!

Read More »